FORERUNNER

n. 1 predecessor, precursor, foregoer; herald, harbinger, envoy; forebear, ancestor, forefather, progenitor This dishwasher is better designed than its forerunners The cuckoo is thought by many to be the forerunner of spring. 2 omen, portent, foretoken, premonition, sign, augury, token A drop in the barometer is a forerunner of bad weather